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| Hon Joseph Abbey Aku, Commissioner Commerce and Industry, Plateau state |
Aku says Lalong is passionate about building Jos Main Market as
successful bidder has financial bid open.
By Joseph A. Adudu
November 19, 2019.
The Plateau State Commissioner of
Commerce and Industry, Hon. Joseph Abbey Aku has said that Governor Simon Lalong
is passionate about re- building the burnt Jos Main Market. The Commissioner
made this statement at the conference hall of the ministry at the JD Gomwalk
Secretariat Jos on Tuesday during the Financial Bid Opening of the successful
bidder for the re- development of the burnt Jos Main Market.
The commissioner
described the event as historic taking into cognizance that the Market formed
the bedrock of the economy of the state. " I am delighted to be here
because this is a historic moment because the burnt market has been in that
condition for quite sometime until the present government decided it is high
time to develop it realizing the fact that the market forms the bedrock of the
economy of the state", Aku said.
The commissioner said that the desire of the
state government was to see economic and business activities as well as
the establishment of cottage industries thrived adding that the ministry of
commerce was posed to enhancing conducive environment for investors. Aku
believed that after opening of the financial bid, real negotiations would commence
and hoped that in the end, the government would have an investor that has the
capacity to deliver.
Earlier in his
brief insight on the journey so far regarding the process of the redevelopment
and enhancement of the burnt market, the Director of commerce in the ministry,
Lawrence Mawoem said that the Plateau state government through the ministry of
commerce established the feasibility of the redevelopment of the burnt market
through a Public Private Partnership ( PPP). The director stated that
consequent upon this, Roughton International (Nigeria) and Cynergy were jointly
awarded the contract for the Transaction advisory Service for the redevelopment
and enhancement of the market. He said that it was agreed that the project will
be conducted in phases with phase 1 being under procurement with bids being
received in October 2018, from two bidders.
" Phase 1 is designed to cover
as a minimum 500-1000 shops via Design Build Rehabilitate Operate Transfer. As
such bidders were encouraged to consider rehabilitation of one of the far
sections of the market which are less damage by the incident and are deemed
appropriate for rehabilitation."
The director added that for the
redevelopment, it was imperative for the demolition of part of the existing
structure of the market and reconstruction of a new development designed to
capture the of modern day Jos. According to the director, " the
full- scale project is anticipated to provide about 6,000 shop and stall units
( 47,000-50,000 sq.m. of settable space) and to include additional components
such as surface and suspended parking facilities, clinic, recreational space and
any other complementary facilities that will maximize the return on investment
of the project".
He said the
request for proposals invited pre- qualified bidders to bid for phase 1 of the
project, which included as minimum for the development of 500-1000 shop/stall
units and auxiliary facilities via the rehabilitation of one of the far end
sections of existing market structure. " The selected bidder shall have
the responsibility to design, build, rehabilitate, operate and transfer the
Project in accordance with the provisions of the Concession Agreement to be
entered into between the selected bidder and Plateau state government", he
said.
The director
further stressed that the Concession period for the project will be 25 years
including the construction and rehabilitation period adding that the state
government thereafter, might consider an extension of the Concession period if
it is justified by the economics. He said bidders were asked to make the case
for any such Concession in their proposals.
Shedding more
light, Mawoen said, " the Concessionaire will have the right to generate
project revenues through the sale, renting or leasing of shopping space and
applicable service charges. The Concessionaire will also have full commercial
rights over the project and the possibility to generate revenue from additional
commercial activities, such as parking, warehousing, advertising , etc."
The director said
that the Transaction Advisers concluded the evaluation process and advised that
the Plateau state government began negotiation with the bidder that scored the
highest in the technical evaluation which according to him showed that Edil
Belmonte was the preferred bidder at the current stage having received full
marks on the financial in the absence of a qualifying submission from NM Ataj.
The technical
session of the bid opening was handled by Peter Dogo, the Director of
Procurement.
Representative of
Edil Belmonte, Yakubu Dimka expressed delight to be part of the epoch making
event promising that his organization was ready to give the best.
The Permanent
Secretary of the ministry Samuel Gomer while giving the closing remarks,
commended the effort of Hon. Aku for bringing to life the redevelopment
of the burnt market which has been in the cooler before taking over the helm of
affairs in the ministry.
There were good
will messages from Barr Amos Dushu, General Manager Jos Main Market Authority,
representatives of professional associations, Plateau state Traders and
Marketers Association and others. Recalled that Governor Lalong made the
rebuilding of the Jos Main Market as one of his campaign promised. The market
has been in delipitated condition for almost 20 years.
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